


Wise Men say

by desiresoftheheart



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Slow Burn, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21973516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desiresoftheheart/pseuds/desiresoftheheart
Summary: When Nini returns to school with a new boyfriend, Ricky decides to tell her that he is dating his best friend, Red. Red has had a crush on him since the 8th grade and has tried to make Ricky fall for him ever since. But that won't happen, Right?
Relationships: Big Red/Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), E.J. Caswell/Nini Salazar-Roberts, Gina Porter/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Kudos: 52





	Wise Men say

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this idea started after i tweeted about how in fake dating aus no one ever has read fanfics. so in this one i wanted for them both to be well versed in that world. also I am a sucker for fake dating AU's like its *chef's kiss*, the good kush. I also have a twitter au that goes along with this so you can read that here: https://twitter.com/Igbtricky/status/1210223721736261640?s=19

The year starts off like any other first day does, chaotic. Ricky practically sprints down his driveway before whizzing past Red's house. Red can barely even keep up while Ricky almost breaks a speed record with how fast he's going. But Red already knew that Ricky and Nini’s relationship was hanging in the balance, and the only way to solve it was by talking, and talking now. By the time Ricky and Red had made it onto school property, Ricky was already trying his best to break through the crowd trying to get to Nini. 

“Come on Red move faster!”, Ricky says running down the hall, “When she texted me earlier, she sounded calm.”

“And that means?” Red had already known all about the Nini/Ricky drama. Ricky complained like everyday for a month about how he should’ve just said he loved her. Red listened to his rants endlessly and somehow, it never stopped him from having a crush on him.

“It means that we’re good. I can tell her how much she means me, and we can get back together,” Ricky says before running to Nini. Yeah, should he have toned his enthusiasm down a little? Probably. But love makes you do crazy things.

"Nini!", Ricky called out before reaching the girl at her locker. "Hey." His heart still skipped a beat at the sight of Nini, he left her alone after she came home from camp to give her some space. He wanted situation calm down before he told her that he still loved her. 

"Hey!", Nini says, flashing a quick nervous look at Kourtney, smile faltering for just a second.

"So I-" they both start at the same time. 

"You go first," Ricky says.

"Ummmm,” another look at Kourtney before blurting out the rest of her sentence, "Ihaveaboyfriend," she rushes before restating calmly, "... I have a boyfriend."

"Oh." 

That was not at all a thought that had passed Ricky's mind when he saw that the that text this morning. And it surely wasn't one that he had when him and Red had planned all the way to get Nini back. 

"Well," Ricky continues, "That's fine because I have one too."

"What?"

"I have a boyfriend, too."

"Who?", Kourtney interjects after being surprisingly quiet the entire time.

"Red," Ricky says matter of factly.

"Red?!?",both Kourtney and Nini practically screech, while Red just stands there unable to move or even think. Ricky quickly shoots him a look, begging him to play along. Red’s face shows about a thousand emotions before settling on a calm expression.

“Well. Um. That’s good, I guess,” Nini didn’t question the development between Red and Ricky, despite her knowing that Ricky had always made it clear that they would stay friends no matter what happens. “So maybe we should, um. Hang out sometime, the four of us. You guys could meet EJ, he’s super cool.” 

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” he says. Borth Nini and Ricky nodding awkwardly before either one of them spoke up again. “Okay, bye.” And with that Ricky took Red’s hand and led him down the hallway. 

“So what was that?”, Red finally asks once they make it to their homeroom class. 

“I don’t know man,” Ricky responds, clearly distressed, “My brain just was like ‘Okay, how do I make Nini regret getting a boyfriend’ and my dumbass couldn’t think of anything else.”

“Okay I guess. But why me?", Red asks, he doesn't know what he expects for him to say but saying that he would never fall in love with him wasn't one of the things. 

The rest of the day breezes by, only lunchtime causing a slight problem through the rest of the day. Usually Red and Ricky sit with Nini and Kourtney, but seeing as the two girls were both surrounded by athletes, it wasn't exactly smart for her ex to come sit with them. Oddly enough, the theatre table accepts them with no problem.

When Red finally gets home, he hops straight onto twitter and just rants on his stan account. Being a gay disaster is kindve his brand on there. Of course, his best friends, Max and Lee have heard him complain about his crush on Ricky so many times, you'd think that they were there to witness it themselves. Needless to say Red telling them that Ricky said that they'll never fall in love with him was hard.

red: so not to be dramatic or anything but im going to commit  
max: what did pretty boy do this time?  
red: so basically we're fake dating  
Lee: that's awesome! do you think you'll be a multi chapter fanfic with a happy ending or a short angsty oneshot.  
max: I hate that any of that has meaning to me  
red: he told me that he would never fall in love with me and that's why he chose me to fake date him  
max: yikes  
Lee: do you want me know to floor him for you? because i will  
red: it's not your fault im ugly  
max: red, no you're not you're baby i will k word you.  
Lee: this is literally the plot of every fanfic ever. you have to show them what they're missing out on.  
max: I hate to say it but he's right. some people don't realize what's right in front of them.  
red: I've been trying for years, you don't know think I'm trying. Plus I want to respect his boundaries.  
max: which are?  
red: fuck  
Max: you didn't make a contract on the boundaries, did you?  
red:we're friends why would i think to do that  
max: call him right now and talk about it or I will literally fly to Utah and beat you up.  
red: okay fine.

Red can't help but feel defeated as he calls Ricky. 

"Hey dude," Ricky says when he answers.

"Hey," Red starts, he can already feel any confidence he had slowly dripping away, "You don't feel bad about the fake dating, do you?"

"I wouldn't say feel bad, rather just, kinda wish it didn't need to happen," but before Red can even start Ricky says,"But I'm glad that I'm fake dating you."

And with that, Red is already more hopelessly in love then when he started.

"I, um, yeah, me too."

"So what did you call me for?"

"Oh yeah, so I just wanted to make sure that I'm not making you feel uncomfortable with the fake dating. I want to respect any boundaries you have."

Ricky lets out a breathless laugh, "Dude I trust you, we don't need to do a whole contract thing, those are so messy. You've been my best friend for years, all you have to do is just keep being my best friend but just like, I don't know, hold my hand in public. It doesn't have to be a huge thing. 

"Thanks, I feel a lot better now," Red lets out a huge sigh of relief and for a couple seconds they just sit in silence

"Can you do me a huge favor?"

"What can be a bigger favor than pretending to be your boyfriend?"

"Actually going on a date with me."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys all enjoy it, because this will certainly be a ride. Come follow me on twitter @Igbtricky or on tumblr @devynposts


End file.
